EFFICIENCY OF SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY DEVICES WITH SELECTIVE RECEIVERS
Keywords:
Solar thermal devices convert incoming sunlight into usable heat for applications such as domestic water heating, industrial process heating, and thermal power generation. You see this in technologies like flat-plate collectors, evacuated-tube collectors, parabolic troughs, and central-receiver systems. Each device works by capturing short-wave solar radiation and transferring the absorbed energy to a working fluid.Abstract
Selective receivers improve solar-to-thermal conversion because they absorb short
wave solar radiation efficiently while releasing very little long-wave thermal energy.
This allows the receiver to hold more heat and deliver higher useful output. Research
shows the same pattern across different solar thermal technologies, including flat-plate
collectors, evacuated-tube collectors, parabolic trough systems, and dish or cavity
receivers. Experimental studies highlight that selective coatings and well-designed
receiver surfaces raise efficiency, strengthen high-temperature performance, and widen
the operating range of each device. These improvements become more noticeable as
the working temperature increases, making selective receivers important for both
household systems and high-temperature concentrating applications.
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